Reform UK surges in polls as Farage's party leaves Lowe woes behind - 'Onwards and upwards!'

Starmer and Reeves forced to face down 'HALF of Cabinet' over cuts following Labour left meltdowns on welfare and foreign aid

More than half the Cabinet have told Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves to rethink plans to slash welfare and spending, Bloomberg reports.

On Tuesday, a slew of Ministers took turns warning the Prime Minister and Chancellor against new cuts - which reportedly took so long that Starmer was forced to let the meeting run late.

"Almost every Minister" in the 27-strong Cabinet spoke - many of whom laid into a series of welfare cuts expected enxt week, more spending constraints later this year, and Reeves's self-imposed Budget cap.

It follows a spate of high-profile Labour rebellions on cutting foreign aid, spearheaded by the resignation of Anneliese Dodds.

Bloomberg's report also warns that Dodds "won't be the last to leave government" and that some Ministers are on "resignation watch".

Hard-left Labour MP Nadia Whittome told the BBC that the party was "getting it badly wrong on this" earlier this week - while fellow Socialist Campaign Group member Brian Leishman, told Times Radio that reducing disability benefits would show a "basic lack of humanity".

'Things move on... They always do' - Reform insiders bristle at JLP polling as party pushes to move past Lowe row

Today's JL Partners polling which found that 86 per cent of the public "do not know who Rupert Lowe is" has been met with serious criticism by Ben Habib - Reform UK's ex-deputy leader and a staunch ally of the Great Yarmouth MP.

Speaking to GB News after the data emerged, Habib said: "The issue with Farage is not his recognition rating. It's that he is not fit to be Prime Minister. He has no political philosophical framework which guides him.

"He's a narcissistic political expedient... Neither is he able to form around him a team of high-calibre individuals capable of saving the country. His ego will not allow it.

"The country is in a dire state, it needs proper leadership. The man to offer that is Rupert Lowe."

But Gawain Towler, the party's former communications chief who has clashed with Habib before, said: "Ben is loving this, but it doesn't make what he says at all serious."

Pressed on what was needed to shift focus away from the row, he added: "Things move on... they always do."

'I wish we'd had the guts to do this!' Ex-Tory Minister heaps praise on Starmer for swinging axe on NHS England

A Conservative peer has heaped praise on Sir Keir Starmer's decision to abolish NHS England.

Lord Bethell, a health minister in Boris Johnson's Tory Government, wrote on social media: "I wish we'd had the guts to do this."

Speaking in Hull, the Prime Minister said the body, dubbed the "world's largest Quango" will be abolished to "cut bureaucracy" and bring management of the health service "back into democratic control."

Meanwhile, Tory peer Lord Kempsell wrote on social media: "The right must admit that Starmer has achieved an at least symbolic victory in abolishing NHS England - it’s easier for him to do - but at least he’s done it.

"They desperately need to learn from this approach - you can just abolish things."

Though the move has been met with praise from the right, unions have been left in uproar - and are demanding pay rises.

Unison general secretary Christina McAnea said: "Put simply, the health service needs thousands more staff and to be able to hold on to experienced employees. At the moment, it’s struggling to do that. Giving staff a decent pay rise would help no end.

“But this announcement will have left NHSEngland staff reeling. Just days ago they learned their numbers were to be slashed by half, now they discover their employer will cease to exist."

Keir Starmer is reclaiming the centre for Labour and squeezing out Reform - Christopher Hope analysis

Sir Keir Starmer's decision to take an Elon Musk-sized chainsaw to NHS England - described today by the Government as "the world's biggest quango" - might be one of the bravest decisions he takes as Prime Minister.

Essentially, he is doing the necessary surgery to the nation's health service which successive Conservative administrations did not have the courage to do.

I was regularly told by senior Tories about their frustration that health policy was controlled by NHS England - yet they regularly took the beatings for NHS failings which they often lacked the power to correct.

Yet none of them felt able to unwind the reforms introduced by Andrew Lansley, a former Tory health secretary, and bring the bloated health budget back under the direct control of ministers...

SIGN UP TO GBN MEMBERSHIP AND READ CHOPPER'S ANALYSIS HERE

Liz Truss slaps down Starmer comparisons after PM swings axe on NHS England

While Tory peers Lords Bethell and Kempsell were quick to praise Sir Keir Starmer's radical NHS England reforms today, ex-Prime Minister Liz Truss has called for even more.

Writing on social media in reaction to a BBC headline reading "Starmer echoes Liz Truss on reform of government", the libertarian former PM wrote: "A pale imitation of the real thing.

"The Blob doesn't need reform - it needs dismantling."

Nuffield Trust: Abolition of NHS England will be 'devastating'

The Nuffield Trust has said Labour's decision to abolish NHS England will be "devastating" for their staff.

The trust’s chief executive Thea Stein said: "Today’s news will be devastating for staff at all levels of NHS England, and we must remain mindful of the human cost of this decision.

“With the public finances under extraordinary pressure it does, however, make sense to remove the duplication and bureaucracy that exists currently – and patients and the public are probably not going to shed many tears over the shifting of power from an arm’s-length body into central government.

"The Government should be careful that this doesn’t lead to even more top-down micro-management of local services from Whitehall, which has been the bane of the health service. NHS England was set up to take the politics out of the NHS, but today politics has taken out NHS England."

Lib Dems accuse Labour of 'not treating social care seriously enough'

The Liberal Democrats have hit back at Sir Keir Starmer's plans to abolish NHS England, saying Labour "do not go far enough."

Sir Ed Davey said: "There's no doubt we need big changes like this to fix the NHS after the Conservatives left it on its knees.

"Now we need to see the Government take the action patients desperately need: making sure everyone can see a GP when they need one, cutting waiting lists, and fixing our crumbling hospitals.

"We'll never fix the NHS unless we fix social care – and I'm afraid the Government still isn't treating that seriously or urgently enough. Liberal Democrats will keep pushing for the cross-party talks to finish this year, so the Government can get on with it.

"The Prime Minister badly needs to read the room. People don't want more speeches about civil service reform and government machinery, they want bold action that will turn things around for them now."

Tories welcome NHS England reform but warn Labour has 'has no plans to reduce the bloated civil service'

Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Alex Burghart MP said: "We support measures to streamline NHS management and the principle of taking direct control. Labour ministers now have nowhere to hide or anyone else to blame on NHS performance.

"The NHS is run directly by Labour in Wales where they have created the highest waiting lists and longest waiting times in Britain.

"The government clearly has no plans to reduce the bloated civil service, or to address the fact that the size of the state will reach 44 per cent of GDP on their watch.

"Labour are still not prepared to take the difficult decisions needed on productivity, after handing out no-strings inflation-busting pay rises, or on tackling out of control levels of immigration that are putting intolerable pressures on public services and the taxpayer. Labour are making everything worse."

Streeting claims local NHS providers will be 'set free' under new plans

Health Secretary Wes Streeting told the Commons local NHS providers will be 'set free' as he outlined plans to fold NHS England into the Department of Health and Social Care over the next two years.

He told the Commons: "NHS England will have a much clearer focus over this transformation period, it will be in charge of holding local providers to account for providing the outcomes that really matter, cutting waiting times and managing their finances responsibly.

"And it is tasked with realising the untapped potential of our National Health Service as a single payer public service, getting a better deal for taxpayers through central procurement, being a better customer to medical technology innovators to get the latest cutting-edge tech into the hands of staff and patients much faster, and being a better partner to the life sciences sector to develop the medicines of the future."

Starmer insists there's 'no return to austerity' despite cuts

Sir Keir Starmer has insisted “there’s no return to austerity” despite plans to trim the welfare bill and cut the size of the Civil Service.

The Prime Minister said: "Part of the problem we’ve got with our public services is what was done to them a decade or so ago, so we’re not going down that route, none of our plans are going down that route.

"When it comes to welfare, there are important principles: We must support those that need support, but equally we must help those who want to get back into work, into work. And, at the moment, the system doesn’t do that."

The welfare system "doesn’t help people to get into work, because it’s set up in such a way that even if you take the risk of coming off benefit and into work, and it doesn’t work for you, you end up worse off than when you started."

Streeting confirms NHS England to be abolished in massive shakeup

Wes Streeting has confirmed NHS England will be shut down, calling it the "biggest Quango in the world."

The Health Secretary wrote on X: "The Prime Minister wants to reduce the number of Quango. Today we are abolishing the biggest Quango in the world.

"I will be making a statement to Parliament shortly on the future of NHS England. We will deliver better care for patients and better value for taxpayers."

Starmer SLAMS 'cottage industry of checkers and blockers' in growth speech

Starmer took aim at what he called a "cottage industry of checkers and blockers" within the state who were frustrating the Government’s mandate.

The Prime Minister pointed to his plans to build 1.5 million homes, telling an audience in Hull that "some parts of the state haven’t got the memo."

He added: "I’ll give you an example. There’s a office conversion in Bingley, which as you know, is in Yorkshire. That is an office conversion that will create 139 homes. But now the future of that is uncertain because the regulator was not properly consulted on the power of cricket balls.

"That’s 139 homes. Now, just think of the people, the families, the individuals who want those homes, to buy those homes to make their life and now they’re held up. Why? You’ll decide whether this is a good reason – because I’m going to quote, this is the the reason – because the ‘ball strike assessment doesn’t appear to be an undertaken by a specialist, qualified consultant’."

Starmer announces NHS England is to be abolished 

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has announced NHS England will be abolished to "cut bureaucracy" and bring management of the health service "back into democratic control."

Speaking to a crowd in Yorkshire, he said: "I don’t think for one second that’s what public servants want to do.

"If you walk around Whitehall, I know we’re recruiting some of the best talent in the country, people who have joined the Civil Service because they want to serve their country by delivering change.

"Yet somehow we take that energy, that pride, that patriotism, and we misdirect it into blocking. Well, that’s got to end."

Number on Universal Credit for health or disability up by half a million in year

The number of claimants on Universal Credit (UC) with a health condition or disability restricting their ability to work rose by half a million in a year, the latest figures show.

The official statistics showing 2.5 million people were on UC for that reason by the end of last year come amid rumours of welfare cuts as the Government seeks to slash the benefits bill.

The latest figure for claimants across Great Britain as of December 2024, was up from two million the previous year. Of the 2.5 million total last year, 10% were under 25 years old while 38% were aged 50 and above.

Just over half (54 per cent) of claimants were female. Of the overall total, 14 per cent – some 336,000 – were deemed to have acceptable medical evidence of a restricted ability to work.

Betting experts say 64 per cent chance of Nigel Farage being booted as Reform leader before the end of 2025

Betting experts suggest there is a 64 per cent Nigel Farage will be deposed as Reform UK leader before the end of the year.

BetIdeas have put the price of Farage losing his job at the head of Reform at 4/7 with him 5/4 to still be in charge at the start of next year.

Boston and Skegness MP and Farage's predecessor Richard Tice is the 2/1 favourite. Boris Johnson's odds for a bombshell return to frontline politics as Reform leader stand at 8/1.

Former party chairman Ben Habib's odds are 12/1 and shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel's odds stand at 20/1.

Mike Amesbury set to formally announce resignation on Monday ahead of by-election

GB News understands the notification of the resignation of Mike Amesbury is expected to be announced on Monday, with the writ moved for the Runcorn and Helsby by-election on Tuesday.

The 55-year-old was given a 10-week prison sentence, suspended for two years, after he admitted assaulting Paul Fellows.

It means a by-election will be held in the constituency in the first major electoral test for Labour since their landslide election victory last July.

Professor John Curtice says there is 'every reason to believe' Reform have surged since election

Polling guru Professor John Curtice has suggested Reform UK "is eroding further support" and all evidence points to them having surged since the election.

The Professor of Politics at the University of Strathclyde suggested the party's success represents the "biggest challenge to the dominance" of the other major parties in the UK.

He wrote in The Telegraph: "There is every reason to believe Reform have advanced significantly since the general election, that the party is eroding further support for an already seriously weakened Conservative party and that it could yet pose a threat to Labour’s tenure in many a parliamentary seat.

"In the meantime, local elections scheduled for the beginning of May will give us an even better idea of the exact scale of the threat Reform are now undoubtedly posing."

Labour denies civil service reforms are akin to "UK DOGE"

Labour has denied plans to reform the civil service were akin to Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (Doge).

When asked if proposals were akin to a UK equivalent of Doge, Science Secretary Peter Kyle told LBC: "No. This is a disruptive programme. But it is a programme that will positively disrupt and we want to lead people through it.

"We don’t want to scare people with the prospect of change, we want to excite people with the prospect of change."

Lib Dems call for 'polluters to pay' after North Sea ship collision

Sir Ed Davey has demanded for “the polluters to pay” for any clean up of the North Sea following this week’s ship collision.

In a joint statement withHull Council Leader Mike Ross, the Liberal Democrat leader said: "It is vital that it is the polluters who pay for any clean up of the North Sea and our precious coastline.

"The agencies involved have done an absolutely amazing job. They shouldn’t be left to foot the bill from already overstretched budgets, and nor should ordinary taxpayers.

"The people of East Yorkshire deserve to know that the Government is doing everything in its power to protect our coastlines, our wildlife and our communities."

Starmer pledges to 'slash red tape' in plans to cope with 'era of instability'

The Prime Minister has promised to slash the cost of red tape as he sets out his plan to reshape the state to cope with an “era of instability”.

In what Downing Street has described as an “intervention” on Thursday, the Prime Minister is expected to argue that global uncertainty means the Government must “go further and faster in reshaping the state to make it work for working people”.

As well as vowing to cut the cost of regulation for businesses by 25 per cent, Sir Keir will use his remarks to say he will refocus the state on his key missions and create “an active government that takes care of the big questions, so people can get on with their lives”.

He will say: “The need for greater urgency now could not be any clearer. We must move further and faster on security and renewal. Every pound spent, every regulation, every decision must deliver for working people.”

Starmer will also take aim at a “cottage industry of checkers and blockers slowing down delivery for working people”, continuing his criticism of regulation in the UK.